Controversy Over 'Kim Geon-hee X Silvermark' Sparks Renewed Interest in the Need for a 'Second Annex'

"No Certification Mark Even for French First Lady Without Aide"
Presidential Office: "No Second Secretariat, but Dedicated Team Exists"

As controversy over the gray verification mark on First Lady Kim Keon-hee's X (formerly Twitter) account spreads, the Second Office, which is in charge of the First Lady's official activities, has once again become the focus of attention.

The controversy arose following media reports that the Presidential Office requested cooperation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May to obtain an "official verification mark" for Kim's X account. The request was based on the fact that Jill Biden, wife of U.S. President Joe Biden, has a silver mark on her X account.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "We judged that the Twitter accounts of the President and the First Lady are exposed to various risks of impersonation, so an official verification mark was necessary, and the process was carried out accordingly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, there were criticisms that it was inappropriate for a private citizen like Kim to be granted a silver verification mark, which is usually given to heads of government agencies or officials of international organizations. X categorizes verification marks into three types: blue, gold, and silver. The blue mark is for paid service subscribers, the gold mark for corporate and advertiser accounts, and the silver mark is given to heads of government agencies or international organization officials.

Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Jie-won raised concerns about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' involvement in the process of granting the SNS verification mark to the President's spouse. On the 14th, appearing on KBC's 'Yeouido Invitation,' Park questioned, "Does the First Lady cease to be the First Lady if she doesn't have a silver mark on SNS?"

Regarding the case of Jill Biden, who received the silver verification mark, Park pointed out, "Mrs. Biden has an office and ten staff members, so Twitter provided her with a silver mark," adding, "On the other hand, Emmanuel Macron's wife does not have such an office, so she was not given a silver mark." This is interpreted as an argument that Kim, like Mrs. Macron, who lacks a dedicated support organization, should not receive a verification mark.

Hyun Geun-taek, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute of the Democratic Party, raised doubts, asking, "Does (Kim) belong to an official government organization or government personnel?"

On the same day, appearing on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Hyun said, "It's simple. Just create the Second Office and officially establish an organization to support her," adding, "You need to clearly define the organization, personnel, budget, and responsibilities, but without doing that, going through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get an official mark externally is itself strange."

There have been ongoing calls for an official support organization related to Kim's past activities. The Presidential Office has stated that a support team for Kim already exists within the Office.

On May 24, during a report to the National Assembly's Steering Committee, Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Dae-gi said, "There is no Second Office, but there is a team within the Office that supports the First Lady," adding, "There is a team of about four to five people."